2023 Program

2023 Program

The following program is provisional and subject to change. It will be updated as planning proceeds, please check this page regularly.

Tuesday 10th October

8:30 – 19:00 Registration Open \| Mezzanine Level
Pre-Conference Day – Session 1 \| Meeting Room M4
09:00 – 13:00	Message Stick Gathering Complimentary but numbers limited. Book during registration. Led by CRANAplus’ Executive Director of First Peoples’ Strategies Dallas McKeown and facilitated by Kellie Kerin, participants will craft a message on the meaning of Cultural Safety from their perspective. The message will subsequently be presented during the main program. Indigenous and Non-Indigenous delegates are welcome. Lunch included.
Pre-Conference Day – Session 2 \| Meeting Room M4
14:30 – 15:30	Wellbeing Reset: Mental Health & Wellbeing Session Complimentary but numbers limited. Book during registration. This interactive session from the CRANAplus Wellbeing Team celebrates the rewards of being a remote health worker while acknowledging the difficulty of balancing professional and personal demands. It provides participants the opportunity to check in with themselves and consider steps to promote their wellbeing.
Pre-Conference Day – Session 3 \| Meeting Room M4
16:00 – 17:00	Meditation for Resilience: Mental Health & Wellbeing Session Complimentary but numbers limited. Book during registration. Meditation can be a powerful tool for maintaining wellbeing as a rural and remote health worker. Give it a go during this complimentary session!
18:00 – 20:00	Welcome Function \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area We invite you to join our welcome drinks to mingle with colleagues, exhibitors, and sponsors. Drinks and canapes will be served, and if you are attending the conference on your own, it’s a great opportunity to meet new contacts to network with over the upcoming days.

Day 1: Wednesday 11th October

8:00 – 16:15	Registration & Exhibition Open \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 1 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
8:30 – 8:45	Conference opening Acknowledgment of Welcome to Country Acknowledgement of Board of Directors and CRANAplus Staff Introduce CEO
8:45 – 9:15	Opening address: Prof. Alison McMillan PSM Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer A registered nurse for over 40 years, Prof. McMillan provides high-level strategic policy advice to the Australian Government and the Executive and staff within the Department of Health and Aged Care on nursing, midwifery, health system reform, health workforce, regulation, and education.
9:20 – 10:25	Keynote speaker: Prof. Eddy Strivens Successful ageing in rural and remote Australia – a Far Northern Journey linking research and clinical service delivery Eddy Strivens is a geriatrician who has worked in FNQ for more than 25 years and an ‘accidental’ researcher. This presentation will describe the journey from clinical service delivery to research and back again, exploring successful ageing and service delivery for complex frail older Australians living in regional, rural and remote regions in Northern Australia. Models of novel service delivery and evidence of efficacy and transferability will be explored as well as potential future directions. The presentation will also concentrate on specific issues of successful ageing within First Nation communities and that journey with community partners in the Torres Strait and Far North Queensland.
10:25 – 10:55	Morning Tea \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 2 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
11:00 – 11:55	Keynote speaker: Lesley Salem Improving health of those with chronic disease in rural and remote Australian communities Descendant of the Wonnarua Nation, Lesley Salem, is currently working in private practice as a generalist and chronic disease Nurse Practitioner. She will be discussing the evolution of expanding scope of practice for nurses to meet population needs; current scope of practice requirements, legislation, law, restrictions and prejudice; and the need for the healthcare system to centre on the needs of Australian consumers.
	Abstract 1
11:55 – 12:10	Nurses, midwives and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners partnering in culturally safe, collaborative clinical practice: The development of guidance for nurses and midwives working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners. Saz Newbery, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia Margaret McCallum – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia
	Abstract 2
12:10 – 12:35	Developing a nursing workforce in Tuvalu Julie Kirk, Office of the Chief Nursing Officer Department of Nursing, Ministry of Health Social Welfare and Gender Affairs – Tuvalu
12:35 – 13:20	Lunch \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 3 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
13:25 – 14:15	Karrie Long & Lucy Firth – Department of Health and Aged Care National Nursing Workforce Strategy Consultation The Commonwealth, in partnership with Victoria and in collaboration with all jurisdictions, is developing Australia’s first National Nursing Workforce Strategy. In order to develop the Strategy, the Department of Health and Aged Care is consulting to capture viewpoints on nursing workforce issues from a wide variety of stakeholders.
	Abstract 3
14:15 – 14:30	Growing our own – Developing leaders in a remote hospital John Wright & Julie Brown, NT Health
	Abstract 4
14:30 – 15:00	Tools to help you support Dementia education and care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Diane Cadet James, James Cook University
15:00 – 15:30	Afternoon Tea \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 4 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
15:35 – 16:05	Keynote speaker: Adjunct Professor Shelley Nowlan Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner – Nursing and Midwifery Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner and Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer for Queensland Health, Shelley Nowlan will be discussing the National Rural & Remote Nursing Generalist Framework and its applications for employees, employers, and educators.
16:05 – 16:15	Housekeeping & farewell for the day

Day 2: Thursday 12th October

8:00 – 16:00	Registration & Exhibition Open \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 5 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
08:30 – 08:50	Conference opening – Day 2 Message Stick Session (pre-conference) outcome and feedback
8:50 – 09:15	Opening address: Hon Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Introduction to Day Two Ged Kearney is the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Federal Member for Cooper. Ged started her working life as a nurse and rose to become Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation. From 2010, Ged served as the president of the ACTU. Ged is an advocate for social justice, workers’ rights and universal healthcare.
09:15 – 10:10	Keynote speaker: J’Belle Foster Tuberculosis management in the Torres Strait J’Belle Foster is a Nurse and PhD Scholar with a passion for translational research. In 2014, she moved to the Torres Strait to work on a Federally funded cross-border Torres Strait / Papua New Guinea (PNG) TB project and subsequently established the Torres and Cape TB Control Unit. She will discuss making research-led changes to local policy to improve patient outcomes, diagnostics, collaboration, and disease management.
10:10 – 10:40	Morning Tea \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 6 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
10:40 – 11:40	Keynote Speaker: Alison Weatherstone Rural and Remote Midwifery care Chief Midwife at the Australian College of Midwives, Alison has lived experience across WA, Victoria, Queensland and Kenya. She is drawn to rural and remote midwifery and has a keen interest in access to safe woman- and family-centred maternity care, midwifery leadership, breech birth, and global maternal health. Alison has played key roles in the implementation, review and sustainability of Midwifery Group Practices across Far North Queensland.
11:40 – 12:35	Keynote Speaker: Michelle Taylor Leadership, rural and remote retention – new ways to self care Michelle Taylor is a former critical-care nurse turned psychologist and leadership coach. She has worked in remote communities where healthcare pressures are intense. As a corporate trainer, she has run workshops at all levels of government and helped clinical team leaders to get the best performance from themselves and their teams. In this session she will discuss anti-fragility (the new resilience), how to manage your energy, and mental boundaries for taking work home even if you live and work in a community.
12:35 – 13:20	Lunch \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 7 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level
	Abstract 5
13:20 – 13:40	Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) model of care in action. Natasha Hegarty, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services Danielle Thorne, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services
	Abstract 6
13:40 – 13:55	Sepsis management best practice in remote settings; a case for sepsis kits and cake tins. Debbie Glover NT Health Central Region Primary and Public Health Care
	Abstract 7
13:55 – 14:10	Improving access to allergy care Heather Roberts, National Allergy Council
	Abstract 8
14:10 – 14:40	Training remote practitioners in handheld single view echocardiography Dr Alice Mitchell, Menzies School of Health Research
15:00 – 15:30	Afternoon Tea \| Mezzanine Exhibition Area
	Session 8 \| Plenary 1&2, Mezzanine Level – Building upon 40 years of Strength – Conference closing session
15:30 – 15:45	Sabina Knight – From 1983 to 2023: 40 years of CRANAplus Professor Sabina Knight AM is a career-long Member of CRANAplus and the Director of the newly established JCU Central Queensland Centre for Rural and Remote Health in Emerald. She has served CRANAplus in several roles since its inception in 1983, including inaugural Vice President, President, and Fellow. During this session, Sabina will reflect on 40 years of CRANAplus, its evolving role as a peak professional body and its major achievements in education and support for remote area nurses.
15:45 – 15:55	Michelle Appo – The next 40 years in the remote health sector Michelle Appo is a Clinical Nurse and Outreach Coordinator in Far North Queensland. For the last three years of her 13-year career in primary health care, she has practised in Innisfail, Cairns, Tully and Babinda. Michelle’s recent completion of the CRANAplus Remote Area Nursing Pathway Program and involvement in the CRANAplus Nursing and Midwifery Roundtable has laid a strong foundation for a transition to remote health that will enable her, as a First Nations RN, to strongly advocate and assist in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
15:55- 16:00	Housekeeping & farewell

18:30 – 23:00	Ruby Gala Dinner \| Trinity Room Join us at the 40th CRANAplus Conference Ruby Gala Dinner. The dinner is your chance to celebrate and catch-up with colleagues and friends, new and old, as we announce award winners, enjoy a three-course meal and drinks, and celebrate with live music from Tony George Entertainment. Rubies are the traditional symbol for a 40-year anniversary, so this year’s event has a voluntary ‘ruby’ theme. Embrace the theme by wearing red clothing or accessories, or even ruby sparkles if you’re feeling fancy!

Friday 13 October

Post-Conference Learning Opportunity

09:00 – 17:00

CRANAplus endorsed
Monash University CPD Training – Unit 2: Responding to Sexual Violence in Adults
Complimentary but numbers limited.

This activity is an optional conference add-on. Separate course registration is required, click here to register. Please note this session will be held at the Pullman, Cairns.

This unit focuses on sexual assault consultation. It will equip practitioners with an understanding of the challenges to disclosure; identification, assessment and management of risk; informed consent and capacity to consent; privacy and confidentiality; medical care; forensic principles, documentation and reporting; and referrals.

2023 Program

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